 Fesler fromThe Owl, 1947 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1908-06-29)June 29, 1908 Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | July 30, 1989(1989-07-30) (aged 81) Laguna Hills, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1928–1930 | Ohio State |
| Basketball | |
| 1928–1931 | Ohio State |
| Baseball | |
| 1928–1931 | Ohio State |
| Positions | End (football) Guard (basketball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1931–1932 | Ohio State (assistant) |
| 1933–1940 | Harvard (backfield) |
| 1941–1942 | Wesleyan |
| 1945 | Princeton (assistant) |
| 1946 | Pittsburgh |
| 1947–1950 | Ohio State |
| 1951–1953 | Minnesota |
| Basketball | |
| 1933–1941 | Harvard |
| 1941–1944 | Wesleyan |
| 1945–1946 | Princeton |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 41–40–8 (football) 78–139 (basketball) |
| Bowls | 1–0 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1Big Ten (1949) | |
| Awards | |
| |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1954 (profile) | |
Wesley Eugene Fesler (June 29, 1908 – July 30, 1989) was an Americanfootball,basketball, andbaseball player and coach of football and basketball. He was a three-sport athlete atOhio State University and a consensus first-team selection to theCollege Football All-America Team three straight years (1928–1930). Fesler was later the head football coach atWesleyan University (1941–1942), theUniversity of Pittsburgh (1946), Ohio State (1947–1950), and theUniversity of Minnesota (1951–1953), compiling a career record of 41–40–8. He was also the head basketball coach atHarvard University (1933–1941), Wesleyan (1941–1944) andPrinceton University (1945–1946), tallying a mark of 78–139 Fesler was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1954.
Fesler came to Ohio State fromYoungstown, Ohio. At Ohio State, Fesler was a member of bothPi Kappa Alpha andPhi Beta Kappa, earning a total of ninevarsity letters in baseball, basketball, and football. He was a charter inductee in theOhio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1977.
Many believe Fesler's greatest talents were in football. He primarily playedend and was a consensus first-teamAll-America selection in 1928 and 1929 and a unanimous first-teamAll-America selection in 1930. Depending on the game situation, he would sometimes move into the backfield as afullback. In 1930, he was voted theMost Valuable Player in the Big Ten.
Jock Sutherland, theUniversity of Pittsburgh coach, called Fesler "a one man team. It is unbelievable how that boy can do so many things." In 1939Grantland Rice listed Fesler at end on his all-timecollege football team. Fesler was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1954.
In 1934, high-speedphotographer"Doc" Edgerton took the now-classic photograph "Wes Fesler Kicking a Football." Thestroboscope photograph demonstrated the dent in the ball at the point of contact.
In basketball Fesler was aguard. He was the basketball captain as a junior in the spring of 1930, and the football captain as a senior in the Autumn of that year. He was Ohio State's first consensus first-team All-America selection in basketball in 1931.
Fesler ignored interest from teams of theNational Football League and instead pursued a career in coaching. He began his coaching career as an assistant to his Ohio State football coach,Sam Willaman, in 1931 and 1932. In 1933, Fesler accepted an offer fromHarvard University as head coach of the basketball team and backfield coach of the football team. He stayed at Harvard until 1941. His stint at Harvard turned out to be the longest tenure of his career.
In 1941, Fesler accepted an offer fromWesleyan University to be the head coach of their football team. Unfortunately, the Wesleyan football program was interrupted after the 1942 season byWorld War II. In 1945, Fesler accepted an offer from Princeton as head basketball coach and assistant football coach. He later became the head football coach at theUniversity of Pittsburgh in 1946. In 1947, he became the head coach at Ohio State. He resigned on December 9, 1950, citing "excessive pressure for winning football games".[1] After leaving Ohio State, he became head coach at theUniversity of Minnesota from 1951–1953.
Fesler's1949 Ohio State team was theBig Ten Conference co-champion and beatCalifornia in theRose Bowl. Fesler developed the talents of 1950Heisman Trophy winnerVic Janowicz at Ohio State and two-time Big Ten MVPPaul Giel at Minnesota.
Fesler had a stronger record as a football coach than as a basketball coach. His combined record as a major college football head coach, at Pitt, Ohio State, and Minnesota, was 34–31–8. His combined record as basketball head coach at Harvard and Princeton was 67–108.
Fesler died on July 30, 1989, at the Palm Terrace Rest Home inLaguna Hills, California.[2]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesleyan Cardinals(Little Three)(1941–1942) | |||||||||
| 1941 | Wesleyan | 4–4 | |||||||
| 1942 | Wesleyan | 3–5 | |||||||
| Wesleyan: | 7–9 | ||||||||
| Pittsburgh Panthers(Independent)(1946) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Pittsburgh | 3–5–1 | |||||||
| Pittsburgh: | 3–5–1 | ||||||||
| Ohio State Buckeyes(Big Ten Conference)(1947–1950) | |||||||||
| 1947 | Ohio State | 2–6–1 | 1–4–1 | 9th | |||||
| 1948 | Ohio State | 6–3 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1949 | Ohio State | 7–1–2 | 4–1–1 | T–1st | WRose | 6 | |||
| 1950 | Ohio State | 6–3 | 5–2 | T–2nd | 10 | 14 | |||
| Ohio State: | 21–13–3 | 13–10–2 | |||||||
| Minnesota Golden Gophers(Big Ten Conference)(1951–1953) | |||||||||
| 1951 | Minnesota | 2–6–1 | 1–4–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1952 | Minnesota | 4–3–2 | 3–1–2 | T–4th | |||||
| 1953 | Minnesota | 4–4–1 | 3–3–1 | T–5th | |||||
| Minnesota: | 10–13–4 | 7–8–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 41–40–8 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
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